Steve,
Wonderful pics! Thanks for posting the links to them. Some amazing looking paddling spots. I am left with a few questions which don't actually require answers but feel free to comment when you have some time.
First, how long do the rivers run like that for? Is the water pretty warm for the whole paddling season? (I did see a comment about the water being warm. How amazing to have that kind of water AND that it's warm. Here, the big water is almost always cold too). Do the rivers get even bigger at some point in the season? I'm looking at those steep hillsides and the narrow, rocky ravines and thinking that there must be massive fluctuations in the water from day to day, no? Looks like a lot of aeration in many of the photos too, so the flow must be super fast under a lot of pressure. And those big ROCKS...whoa!! (Leaves me wondering if you've got a pretty dandy repair shop back at home for fixing smashed-up playboats!! -- just kidding). The pic where you mentioned getting stuck crosswise and doing a roll. Yeah..yikes... I can see that. I was actually thinking "stuck boat" before I had even read the caption. That Canyon of Death shot.. Has anyone actually ever run that bit?? You said you can't imagine anyone running it, but has anyone been through there (and lived)? I'm thinking of a movie I saw a few years ago, about some guys who paddled down a river...think it was in the Himalayas (Nat. Geog. movie), and I think there were some parts like that and it looked scary...way too narrow.
And that part where Chip in coming down the Upper Tanudan and you mention the angle is odd. I'm thinking, you mean that the river is really that steep, or is the camera turned a bit. If that's how it is, it looks more like "falling" (??)
Well, that's it for the questions and comments,...except for... If I send you my address, can you send me up one of those *nice* mahogany canoes?! (o:
Thanks again for sharing the wonderful pics. Really made me think I should maybe take a look at the kayaks this weekend while I'm at the Paddlesport Show. |
